MAURITIUS RESIDENCE VISAS – TIME TO CONSIDER THEM

With the new year upon us again it makes sense for you to consider taking advantage of two really beneficial visas offered by Mauritius.

Retiree visa

One of the easiest visas to obtain in Mauritius.  In order to obtain one, you need to be over 50, be able to remit the princely sum of $1500pm to a bank account in Mauritius, at which point you can qualify for a 10 year residence permit.  This can be extended to a 20 year permit after 3 consecutive years.

If you are currently retired in South Africa the move to Mauritius makes enormous sense.  There is no exchange control, no Capital Gains Tax and no Inheritance Tax.  Your heirs will be eternally grateful.  What is more if you formally leave South Africa there is no limit to the amount that you may take with you out of South Africa, although you will have to wait 3 years to access your retirement funds outside of South Africa.  With a bit of planning, it is likely that your tax cost in Mauritius will also be relatively low as Mauritius only taxes income that is remitted into Mauritius.

Premium visa for digital nomads

Mauritius has followed the trend with regards to trying to attract digital nomads and introduced the Premium Visa.  The visa is issued for an initial period of one year renewable and is available to anyone wanting to spend a maximum of one year as a tourist, retiree of remote working professional.

In order to qualify you need to show that you have health insurance and that your main place of business is outside of Mauritius.  You should also not enter the Mauritius labour market (although if you wanted to it is also relatively easy to get an occupation permit). You would also need to show you had accommodation etc available.

Although you would be come tax resident in Mauritius after spending 183 days in a tax year in Mauritius (the tax year runs from 1 July to 30 June), an interesting quirk is that any monies spent on an offshore credit or debit card would not be liable to tax in Mauritius.  Again, a small amount of planning and you should be able to spend a year in paradise tax free.